The hard-tackling, midfielder believes moving on from the Lions of the North, who are currently campaigning in the National First Division (NFD), will be crucial if he is to represent the country again.

Speaking to the media after his side collected maximum points with a 2-1 victory against Royal Eagles at Harry Gwala Stadium in Maritzburg this past weekend, Mvala also confirmed that he has several offers on the table.

“There are teams which are interested in my services but at the moment I’m still contracted to Highlands Park. My focus is with them," he said. "I have offers from PSL teams and one from Greece. We don’t know what will happen but we have to wait and see.

"Playing in the NFD will limit my chances of getting more Bafana Bafana call-ups. The NFD is not that much recognised. There’s nothing I can do because I have a contract with team and I have to honour that contract.

“Playing in the Cosafa and Chan boosted my confidence. I was competing against the best players in the national team. I worked with a lot of quality players. I want to use that experience to help Highlands win promotion, if I stay with the team. In five years time I want to play overseas,” he continued.

Mvala was part of the Bafana set-up that recently played in the Cosafa Cup and the African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers. He also merited selection for the Under-23 team that played in the Rio Olympic Games last year.

Highlands Park - who were relegated from the PSL last season after finishing at the bottom of the log - have started off brightly in the NFD this season.

They are currently sitting on top of the log after two matches having collected the maximum six points. They opened their account last week with victory over Jomo Cosmos at home.

“I’m confident that the team we have can bounce straight back to PSL," Mvala enthused. "We have a strong team and we haven’t made a lot of changes. We know each other and I think that’s why we’ve started well. We also have good, young stars.

"The NFD is primarily all about having good, youngsters to accommodate the Under-23 rule. We will compete. Highlands Park want to get automatic promotion. We don’t want to go to the play-offs. If we continue to be consistent, we will easily achieve our goal."

The NFD will also take a break this week to accommodate the Fifa week. Teams and will be back in action on September 9 with Highlands visiting University of Pretoria away.